Two die after 7 women collapse at meditation hall in Nara

Two die after 7 women collapse at meditation hall in Nara

NARA — Two women died Saturday after being found collapsed on the floor at a meditation hall in the town of Tawaramoto, Nara Prefecture, with four other women and a female Buddhist priest, police said.

Shigeko Okawa, 80, and Sumie Fujii, 78, were among six women aged between 75 and 87 who were visiting the 88-year-old priest at the hall and who were found by a relative of one of the women. When firefighters arrived at the scene, the seven women were no longer conscious in the hall where a charcoal brazier was burning and another heater was turned on. (Kyodo News)